“We are fully engaged with the community. It’s our reason for being,” says MSU Denver President Stephen Jordan. “In this urban environment, we have an opportunity to put theory and practice together in real time.”

The school’s Hospitality Learning Center with the SpringHill Suites Denver Downtown hotel provides downtown hotel and conference space as well as real-world experience for students in hotel, restaurant and tourism management.

MSU Denver’s Center for Visual Art in the arts district on Santa Fe Drive provides a space for the university’s 1,000 arts majors to display their work and gives them an opportunity to meet and learn from artists who visit from around the world.

The new $20 million Regency Athletic Complex is the center for MSU Denver’s NCAA Division II teams as well as club and intramural sports. But it also was designed for the surrounding community.
The complex provides sports-related programs such as tennis and soccer for inner-city youth and has a walking path around the building that residents can use. MSU Denver will play host to between 800 and 1,000 student athletes at the Spring 2016 NCAA Division II sports festival.

MSU Denver is embarking on an innovative project that aims to integrate several disciplines to meet a growing demand for a skilled workforce that also will keep graduates in Colorado. The Aerospace and Engineering Sciences Building will combine aerospace science and engineering; industrial design; civil, mechanical and electrical engineering; and computer science and computer information systems. Some 28 new courses are planned, and classes will begin in 2016.

“Colorado has the second-largest workforce in aerospace in the private sector,” Jordan says. “But the industry can’t find the workforce. Companies like Lockheed Martin are recruiting out of state.”

MSU Denver leaders have proposed a $60 million public-private partnership with $20 million from the state, $20 million from the school and $20 million from the private sector. MSU Denver has received $5.8 million from the state for design work. Jordan says current plans are to break ground in the summer, with the building opening its doors in fall 2017.

Jordan says faculty members from the various disciplines as well as representatives from Lockheed Martin are working together to develop curriculum.

“This will fill a unique niche,” Jordan says. “It will provide a trained workforce and give students an opportunity to work and stay in Colorado at starting salaries of $60,000 to $65,000.”

The program also will continue MSU Denver’s growth in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) sciences. MSU Denver has seen a 30 percent growth in STEM, and Jordan is particularly surprised by the 68 percent growth in enrollment of students of color in this area.

In all, 34 percent of MSU Denver’s 22,000 students are students of color.

In 50 years, MSU Denver has graduated more than 80,000 students and it’s seeing an increase in the number of degrees it awards – from 2,280 10 years ago to 3,545 in 2014. And 85 percent of graduates stay in Colorado.

“We’re doing a better job of getting kids to the finish line, putting people in the workforce in meaningful ways,” Jordan says. “That’s why we created the university. We don’t have the highest ACT scores. It might take our students a little longer to complete school. But these are scrappy kids who want to change their lives.”

Each Thursday, Wells gathers on campus with a group of high school students from Aurora’s Rangeview High School. Together, they conduct community-based research that helps them identify an issue they care about. The annual sessions culminate in a service-learning project, where they volunteer to take specific action to help improve the community around them.

“We really focus on organizing and empowering students and individuals in the community around us,” Wells said. “Together with the students, we take ownership of our projects. We want to demonstrate to them, and to ourselves, that we are accountable for the well-being of the people around us.”

Wells’ efforts are part of a larger, ongoing movement at the University of Denver that finds students, faculty, and staff volunteering hundreds of thousands of hours in the local community every year. Since March of 2014, University of Denver students, faculty, staff, and alumni have logged more than 283,000 hours of community service, helping DU gain recognition as a winner of the prestigious Carnegie Foundation 2015 Community Engagement Honor.

The benefits of the University’s community programs come in many forms, not least of which is the effect on Denver’s economy. The University’s volunteer efforts over the past year represent almost $2,500,000 in work hours – a direct boost to Denver’s economy.

“Community engagement in teaching, research and campus life offers incredible opportunities,” said Dr. Anne DePrince, Director of CCESL. “DU students apply their academic learning within communities, developing skills that prepare them for their careers. Our faculty also addresses research questions with enormous public importance, oftentimes with student collaborators, preparing them to become the academic and civic leaders of tomorrow.”

The hands-on experienced gained via these programs is part of the reason, DePrince said, that 88 percent of DU graduates have at least one job offer at graduation.

It’s all part of DU’s larger vision to take the passion students have in their areas of interest, and turn that into purposeful, measurable activities both on and off campus. Since its founding in 1864, the privately-funded University of Denver has long had a reputation for being active in the community, but the philosophy became formalized with the creation of the “1864 Service Challenge” created during last year’s 150th anniversary celebration.

“We have an amazing collaborative community – alumni, students, board members, faculty and staff, donors and friends, who work together to educate our outstanding students and to serve the public good,” said University Chancellor Rebecca Chopp.

Wells said his three years in the CCESL programs have given him a greater wisdom about the communities around him and, he hopes, helped him inspire others to stop, take notice, and take part in building a better society around them.

“My students are the next generation of leaders,” he said, “It’s important that we address some of these issues within our community. Yes, we hope it makes the world a better place, but it also expands your own worldview. It makes you aware of some of your own privileges, as well as how difficult things can be for others in our community. Most of all, it makes you realize that you can, in fact, do something about it.”

By: Mark Samuelson

Among the factors that weigh most heavily on people when choosing where to live, few rank higher than quality of education.

It’s so vital that Realtors say out-of-state prospects often have done extensive Google homework on districts and individual schools before arriving to look at property.

Although Colorado’s spending-per-student and teachers’ salaries are regular targets of criticism, the state is getting better grades for schools now from a diverse range of sources – particularly for the consumer value that an education offers here.

The latest “Leaders and Laggards” report on K-through-12 education issued by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation gives Colorado an “A” grade in academic achievement, international competitiveness, parental options and return on investment; and “Bs” in low-income/minority achievement and postsecondary workforce readiness.

WalletHub, an online source ranking consumer decisions, ranks Colorado sixth best in the nation in quality of education and future earning potential, based on an algorithm of 12 metrics ranging from pupil/teacher ratios and math and reading scores, to dropout rates and incidents of bullying.

Although Colorado is two time zones west of the storied universities along the Atlantic coast that have often correlated with acclaimed state schools systems, Colorado’s institutions of higher learning punch above their weight in recognition and performance.

Employers like the bounty of bachelor’s degrees they find in Colorado – the nation’s second highest number of college graduates as a percentage of population. The Denver-Aurora-Broomfield metro area, according to the Washington Post, has had the nation’s very best success in attracting new grads to relocate here – up more than 21 percent in the five years 2007 to 2012.

Educators here point to experiential learning opportunities offered by Colorado colleges and universities as better preparing graduates for the challenges they’ll find in the outside world.

“Our faculty addresses research questions with enormous public importance, oftentimes with student collaborators, preparing them to become the academic and civic leaders of tomorrow,” says Anne DePrince, Director of the Center for Community Engagement and Service Learning at the University of Denver.

DU posts the nation’s very highest percentage of students who study abroad at some point in their academic careers. At a time when unemployment is a particular concern for the youngest working ages, some 88 percent of DU graduates have at least one job offer waiting for them at graduation, a remarkable statistic.

Colorado has 876,999 public school students, served by just over 50,000 teachers, who earn just under $50,000 yearly on average.  Student dropout rates are moving in the right direction, currently just 2.4 percent – falling over recent years, down 1.4 percent between 2008 and 2014.

Despite what seems to be a growing reputation for a public school education here, significant numbers of families in Colorado are choosing to home-school students. They now number more than 8,000 and their numbers are rising.

“This is absolutely a much more stable environment, compared not just against other industries, but also the past,” says Tory Bruno, new president/CEO of Centennial-based United Launch Alliance (UAL), the joint venture between Boeing and longtime Colorado rocket builder Lockheed Martin that oversees launches of both of America’s most reliable vehicles, the Atlas and the Delta.

Fifty years ago, when Martin’s plant in Jefferson County was making Titan missiles, aerospace was about Cold War defense – running hot and cold as planners picked between weapon systems to counter the Soviet threat.

Now, with the nation’s second-largest aerospace economy, the industry here is wrapped not just around defense, but government and commercial uses few could have imagined then. Defense-related missions tend to involve national security of such priority that missions are beyond risk of sequestration. “When they consider what’s going to be preserved, these are at the top of the list,” Bruno says.

However, that doesn’t mean that space in Colorado isn’t competitive. Last year, Boeing and California rocket maker SpaceX were pitted in a three-way rivalry to design a replacement for NASA’s mothballed Space Shuttle, matched against Sierra Nevada Corp.’s Space Systems division in Louisville – an upstart in the heady world of manned spacecraft. Sierra Nevada survived an initial bout between two dozen firms with a daring vehicle design: “Dream Chaser,” a Shuttle-type craft that would re-enter the atmosphere like a plane and land on an airport runway, rather than as a capsule parachuting into the ocean.

Boeing’s and SpaceX’s more conventional capsules won the round, getting contracts to take the next step to return America to manned space flight – but the dustup was no loss for Sierra Nevada, says Space Systems chief Mark Sirangelo. “Twenty-five companies started that effort and we made it to the final three despite being the most unknown,” he says.

In the course, Sierra Nevada took contracts totaling over $300 million, mostly going to Colorado contractors.

Meanwhile, Colorado aerospace touts success rates that stand out from 2014’s more sensational space stories, including the unreliability of Russian rocket engines that now power many U.S. launches.  In UAL’s nine years they’ve boasted 91 perfect launches, on time. 2014 was a great year for Colorado aerospace,” says former Air Force General Jay H. Lindell, appointed a year ago by Gov. John Hickenlooper as “champion” for Colorado aerospace and defense development.

After Colorado’s high-profile involvement in the December test of NASA’s Orion deep-space craft, Lindell sees even more opportunities coming Colorado’s way.

The company’s investment—in the form of state severance taxes, local ad valorem taxes, royalties to the state and private citizens, development costs, employee and contractor salaries and operating costs — results in 65 cents of every dollar expended staying right here in Colorado.

But for Encana, investment also means giving to the community. Through the company’s community involvement efforts, Denver area non-profit groups received $2.1 million in grants last year. This money supported education, community wellness, and environmental projects.

Encana believes in continuous improvement and works to develop energy resources responsibly. For example, in Western Colorado, Encana invested in recycling technology that allows over 95 percent of the water it uses to be recycled, greatly reducing reliance on fresh water sources. We’ve also worked to reduce air emissions through the use of innovative technologies.

By providing well-paying jobs, supporting the local community, and developing energy responsibly, Encana strives to be a valued corporate partner in Colorado.

“Safety.”

That word, Campbell said, is at the heart of everything Xcel Energy does, from building major pipelines, to converting power plants, to upgrading aging infrastructure. As Vice President of Gas Engineering and Operations, Campbell has been at the helm of a series of large and complex upgrades to the state’s gas services in a notable year of activity for Xcel Energy.

“We are Xcel Energy now, but we started as Denver Gas in 1869, and of course Denver is a very different city than it was then. It’s a different city than it was even 20 years ago,” Campbell said. “We have better technology now, safer technology, and we’ve been implementing this technology even as we improve service and capacity.”

Cheryl Campbell, Vice President of Gas System Design, Operations & Management with Xcel Energy in Denver. Campbell is an alumna of the University of Colorado at Boulder. (Photo by Casey A. Cass/University of Colorado)

Denver’s original gas pipeline, for example, was once mainly cast iron.  Cutting edge in its day, cast iron can now be replaced with much safer, durable, and flexible materials. In November of 2014, Xcel Energy achieved a notable milestone by replacing the last of the aging pipeline, putting Colorado on the leading edge of such initiatives.

‘Sayonara’ to smoke stacks

Keen observers will notice something different about Denver’s skyline lately. Look north, and you might wonder what’s missing.

One of the Cherokee power plant smokestacks, which once towered into the blue sky, is gone. The change may have gone unnoticed by many, but it represents a seminal shift in the way Denver receives its power.

As part of the Clean Air, Clean Jobs Act plan, Xcel Energy retired two coal-fired generating units, and plans to retire a third and convert the fourth unit to operate on natural gas. In addition, a new efficient natural gas-fired generating plant is under construction. To enable these changes a new pipeline was needed to bring gas in from a Fort Lupton gas-metering facility. After surmounting a series of engineering challenges, tunneling under three interstates, nine canals, and one river, the installation of the 34-mile, 24-inch Cherokee pipeline was completed in 2014.

This, in turn, allowed for the tearing down of one of the Cherokee smokestacks, and will ultimately allow for the plant to completely switch from coal to natural gas. And, Campbell points out, there was zero lost time to injuries throughout the project.

Robots, pigs, and noses

At the height of Cherokee pipeline construction, 400 crew members were working 60 hours a week. Yet there’s one job humans can’t do, and that’s crawl inside a pressurized pipeline or gas line to anticipate problems before they occur.

That job is reserved for a team of little robots dubbed, “pigs” by their operators. The pigs measure metal loss and other defects while communicating images and data in real-time. 

“We’re really in a partnership with our customers when it comes to safety,” Campbell said. “On our side, we have the robots, and a comprehensive safety checklist, but our customers have their nose.”

Xcel Energy adds a “rotten egg” smell to its gas, on purpose, so that customers can tell if there is a gas leak in their home, Campbell explained. If a customer smells a gas leak, Xcel Energy advises that the customer immediately leave their area. When a safe distance away, call 1-800-895-2999, or 911 in an emergency.

Growing demand for a growing city

Day-by-day, foot-by-foot, and moment-by-moment, Xcel Energy is preparing Colorado for what’s to come. As Denver’s energy needs change and grow, Xcel Energy is working to build an infrastructure that can meet and exceed the demands of this growing, energetic region. Learn more at www.xcelenergy.com.

Colorado is uniquely positioned as a leader in the balanced energy economy, with abundant fossil fuels (coal, oil and natural gas) and renewable energy resources (solar, wind
and biofuels).

Across the state, several key assets support the energy and natural resources industry. The Niobrara shale formation, located in northeast Colorado’s rich Denver-Julesburg Basin, extends into several western states and contains large reserves of oil and natural gas. The Piceance basin in northwestern Colorado is a shale field with estimated reserves of 1.5 trillion barrels of oil and significant natural gas reserves. The state’s reserves of super-compliant coal and rich supplies of oil and gas provide substantial economic benefits across the state. The state also has excellent solar resources in south-central Colorado and abundant wind resources along the state’s eastern plains. Colorado is a world-class hub for energy research and technology innovation, with support from research universities and leading federal laboratories.

Mines in Colorado provide a variety of minerals important to the U.S. economy, including gold, silver, molybdenum, and gypsum. The Henderson Mine in Empire is the world’s largest primary producer of molybdenum. The state is the nation’s fourth-largest gold producer and the Cripple Creek and Victor Gold Mining Company operates Colorado’s largest gold mine, producing more than 200,000 ounces of gold annually. In total, the energy and natural resources industry in Colorado supports more than 128,000 workers in over 6,000 companies. 

These energy and natural resources workers create high-paying jobs across Colorado. The 2014 average annual salary of energy and natural resources workers in the state was $81,600, compared with the average of $51,600 for all workers in Colorado. Total payroll in Colorado’s energy and natural resources industry was nearly $10.5 billion in 2014.

Colorado’s progressive policy reforms have facilitated the expansion of the energy and natural resources industry. Legislation in 2010 created the nation’s second-highest Renewable Energy Standard that mandated a minimum of 30 percent of Colorado’s investor-owned utilities’ electricity come from renewable sources by 2020. As a result, significant renewable energy projects have come online in the last several years. As of 2014, Colorado is the location of 27 wind projects, one of the world’s largest concentrating photovoltaic projects in the San Luis Valley, nearly 60 small hydroelectric facilities and four ethanol plants.

The state has one of the highest per-capita concentrations of federal research facilities in the nation. Colorado’s 30 federal laboratories generate over $2.3 billion in annual economic impact to the state and foster innovation and stimulate technology transfer between companies and local educational facilities. Among the state’s federally funded research laboratories, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, a Golden-based federally funded research laboratory, is a vital asset to the state’s energy and natural resources industry.

A variety of organizations support the state’s diverse energy and natural resources industry base. The Colorado Energy Coalition is a consortium of leaders and stakeholders dedicated to supporting all sectors of the energy industry with the mission to brand Colorado as the Balanced Energy Capital of the West. The Colorado Energy Research Collaboratory integrates cutting-edge research with the industry expertise to accelerate the transfer of energy technologies into the marketplace through its four research centers. An industry association dedicated entirely to cleantech, the Colorado Cleantech Industry Association, provides advocacy, capacity building, and education and training to the renewable energy sector.

SOURCES: American Wind Energy Association. Colorado Wind Energy. https://awea.files.cms-plus.com/FileDownloads/pdfs/Colorado.pdf  • Colorado Mining Association, www.coloradomining.org • Development Research Partners, www.developmentresearch.net • Economic Modeling Specialists International, 2015 • Metro Denver Economic Development Corporation. Resource Rich Colorado, Sixth Edition, December 2014. www.metrodenver.org/media/377637/RRC6.pdf  • Renewable Fuels Association. Ethanol Facilities Capacity by State and Plant, August 2014. www.ethanolrfa.org/bio-refinery-locations • U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. www.bls.gov • U.S. Department of Energy, Energy Information Administration. Colorado State Energy Profile. www.eia.gov/state/print.cfm?sid=CO • University of Colorado Boulder, Business Research Division. CO-LABS Economic Impact Study: Economic and Fiscal Impacts of Federally Funded Research Facilities in Colorado, FY2011-FY2013. https://co-labs.org/common/var/upload/files/CO-LABS%20Economic%20Impact%20Study%202013%20Final%20Report%281%29.pdf

The owner of Caregivers For Life, a boutique marijuana center in Cherry Creek, estimates the shop’s retail business now accounts for five times that of medical sales, with two thirds of purchases being made by out-of-state visitors.  Since the passage of Amendment 64 her staff has doubled, to 22.

Proudly offering only organic, soil grown buds — including some of the finest Cannabis Cup winners, the menu at Caregivers For Life also boasts an expansive assortment of edibles, from Oreo cake balls to cappuccino bars.  But the center’s real claim to fame is its Colorado Cannabis Oil (also known as Phoenix Tears, Rick Simpson Oil or RSO).

Crafted in-house using a full plant alcohol extraction method that’s not performed anywhere else in the state, the cannabinoid-rich oil comes in capsule, syrup or syringe form, and is used by customers to treat a variety of health conditions ranging from headaches and arthritis to chronic pain and cancer. 

“It’s a beautiful plant that helps a lot of people in a lot of different ways, and to be able to open that up to the recreational market has been amazing,” said the owner, who is expanding the grow and extraction facilities to meet demand for the product.   

We believe in bringing top shelf marijuana and the finest concentrates to everyone at affordable prices.

Colorado Cannabis Oil

• Available in capsules, syringe form and syrups to both medical marijuana and retail customers.
• Infused into all edibles made at Caregivers For Life.
• Consumers new to oils and concentrates should start slowly and build up a tolerance.
• Extracts high in CBD in (a nonpsychoactive compound) and low in THC available.
• Wholesale pricing offered to marijuana centers and cancer patients.

Legal marijuana in Colorado has grown from a handful of medical caregivers in December 2000 to an estimated $600 million industry in 2014 with more than a thousand cannabis businesses around the state – growers, retailers, caregivers and manufacturers – plus ventures ranging from cannabis tours to coupons.

In Wheat Ridge, Chronic Therapy has evolved from a few plants to a sophisticated 4,000-square-foot organic grow operation and a retail storefront that looks more like a jewelry boutique than the funky head shops of yore, complete with a French bulldog named Jacque who likes to relax in the client waiting area.

For Chronic Therapy, which opened its retail store in Wheat Ridge last year, 2014 was an incredible year. The company expanded from a small grow operation to a medical dispensary, opening a storefront in the former Red Cross building at 27th and Kipling in Wheat Ridge in March 2014. After adding a recreational license in August, Chronic Therapy saw its sales quadruple.

Key to Chronic Therapy’s business philosophy is a focus on the individual needs of both people and plants. “We always focus on quality, from the grow to the front of the house,” said Jason, one of four partners in Chronic Therapy.

“We give each plant its own special attention” in nutrition and flowering time, he said.

While Chronic Therapy is now licensed for recreational sales only, the 18-person staff still serves medical customers. One asked for advice about migraines; pharmaceuticals sedated her too much to function, she said. Thirty minutes of discussion later, Jason suggested patches from Mary’s Medicinals that deliver the active ingredient cannabidiol (CBD) without making her high.

“She came back two days later and was giving me high-fives,” he recalled.

Chronic Therapy and the other cannabis businesses around the state must navigate state regulations ranging from employee licensing to tracing cannabis plants from seed to sale.

Because their products, while legal in Colorado, violate federal drug laws, money management and other everyday business functions are complicated.

But, Jason says, the hassles are far outweighed by the rewards, and opposition from some Wheat Ridge citizens has eased as Chronic Therapy has worked with the city to become what every municipality wants – a thriving local business.

“We just don’t get opportunities like this, to have a completely new industry and have a public that’s been willing to learn and adapt from what they’re been taught for so many years. It’s a very exciting time and I feel very lucky to be a part of it.”

Cannabis Industry by the numbers

• Recreational cannabis sales began Jan. 1, 2014. In the first 10 months of 2014, legal pot sales totaled $573.5 million, according to the Colorado Dept. of Revenue’s Marijuana Enforcement Division. 
• That translated to more than $60 million in revenue for the state from cannabis taxes, licenses and fees from January to October.
• Annual demand in Colorado is an estimated 130.3 metric tons.
• Some 485,000 Coloradans consume cannabis on a monthly or more frequent basis. That’s about 9 percent of the adult population.
• Out-of-state visitors account for about half of customers in metro Denver cannabis centers and as much as 90 percent of the clientele in mountain towns.

Source: The Denver Post’s The Cannabist section (www.cannabist.co)

By: Development Research Partners, Inc.

History was made in November 2012 when Colorado residents voted to amend the state constitution allowing the legal use of recreational marijuana for individuals over 21 years of age.

One year after the passage of recreational marijuana, Colorado serves as the national blueprint for marijuana policy, implementation and regulation. The cannabis industry extends across a wide variety of sectors, ranging from software and food manufacturing to farming and cultivation, creating new, innovative businesses and entrepreneurship opportunities.

Colorado saw an influx of tourists traveling to the state to participate in the newly legal industry. Existing companies modified their services and new companies formed to meet the rising demand for marijuana tourism. There are hotels and transportation services that adapted to the recreational user’s needs, allowing for unrestricted use in their facilities and vehicles. Other companies specialized in tours of grow facilities, dispensaries and testing facilities, offering tourists the full marijuana experience.

The technology and software industry quickly created inventory, application and informational programs to meet the needs of the consumer and producer. The Marijuana Inventory Tracking System assigns individual RFID tags to each marijuana plant in the state, reporting industry-side data and regulatory metrics for enforcement and compliance monitoring.

Click here for a closer look at Cannabis statistics

There are numerous marijuana apps for personal internet devices. Companies have designed programs that provide consumers with easy access to medical, retail and accessory stores, as well as recipe guides and information on strain selection.

The demand for marijuana edibles, including baked goods, butters, oils, candies and drinks, continued to increase as the year progressed. Many first-time or inexperienced users expressed the desire to try edible and concentrated marijuana products over traditional methods. Because of this shift in consumer preferences, there was an expansion of the food manufacturing market causing edibles manufacturers to relocate to significantly larger facilities.

As these products became more available, the need for proper labeling and potency levels became significant. Marijuana testing facilities that provide manufacturing companies with the drug potency of their products became a necessary component of the industry.

The cannabis industry extends beyond usage for recreational and medicinal purposes. Colorado farmers obtained the state’s first legal hemp seeds, which can be refined into other products, including hemp seed foods, oil, wax, resin, rope, cloth, pulp, paper and fuel. The hemp plant requires little water and no pesticides or herbicides, making it an ideal cash crop for drought-prone areas. Colorado entrepreneurs are beginning to experiment with cultivating and processing the plant, which can be used in thousands of different products. 

The rapid expansion of marijuana businesses has fostered growth in other industries. Entrepreneurs are recognizing the benefit of helping marijuana producers build more energy efficient operations. Other industries such as educational and health services have companies that strive to inform individuals how to grow legally and safely, while others work to educate the public and minors about the substance.

SOURCES: Development Research Partners, www.developmentresearch.net • The Huffington Post, https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/06/amendment-64-passes-in-co_n_2079899.html • Colorado Pot Guide. https://www.coloradopotguide.com/marijuana-activities-in-colorado/ • CNNMoney, https://money.cnn.com/2014/08/22/smallbusiness/marijuana-tourism-colorado/ • Metrc, https://www.metrc.com/ • Google Apps, https://play.google.com/store/search?q=marijuana&c=apps&hl=en • The Denver Post, Consumer demand for pot edibles spurs Denver manufacturing surge, https://www.denverpost.com/business/ci_26347021/consumer-demand-pot-edibles-spurs-denver-manufacturing-surge • The Cannabist, https://www.thecannabist.co/2014/12/26/colorado-first-legal-hemp-crop/ • Hemp Industries Association, https://www.thehia.org/facts.html • The Denver Business Journal, https://www.bizjournals.com/denver/blog/earth_to_power/2015/01/growing-pot-is-hardly-green-is-it-time-for-leed.html?page=all